SAN MARCOS, Texas — Demonstrators on Texas State University’s campus Wednesday holding offensive signs sparked a crowd of counter protesters and condemnations online. 

What You Need To Know

  • The demonstrations happened at little after noon on Wednesday at a public area on Texas State’s campus that has been called a “free speech area”

  • Photos posted of the demonstrators show a couple of individuals holding signs that read “women are property,” “homo sex is sin,” and “types of property: women, slaves, animals, cars, land, etc”

  • The two street preachers were soon surrounded by dozens of counter protesters holding signs that said “Jesus values and respects Texas State women,” “Jesus loves all y’all,” and “There is still love in the world! Love thy neighbors”

  • The street preachers were not affiliated with the university, according to a statement from Texas State University

The demonstrations happened at little after noon on Wednesday at a public area on Texas State’s campus that has been called a “free speech area.”

Photos posted of the demonstrators show a couple of individuals holding signs that read “women are property,” “homo sex is sin,” and “types of property: women, slaves, animals, cars, land, etc…”

The individuals identified themselves as being from the Official Street Preachers. According to the Official Street Preachers website, the group seeks “to share the gospel every day” and focuses on analysis and news coverage from a “Christian perspective.”

The two street preachers were soon surrounded by dozens of counter protesters holding signs that said “Jesus values and respects Texas State women,” “Jesus loves all y’all,” and “There is still love in the world! Love thy neighbors.”

The University Star, Texas State’s student newspaper, reported that the demonstrators were escorted safely off campus by police around 1:15 p.m.

Texas State officials posted a statement in response to the event on the university’s Instagram story saying its “highest priority is the safety of our students, staff, and faculty at all times.”

“As a public institution, TXST supports the First Amendment and is required by state law to uphold freedom of speech in public areas on our campuses, even if such speech may understandably offend some members of our campus community,” the statement said. “We have established policies and protocols that allow individuals to safely engage in expressive activity on university property conducted within institutional regulations.”

The statement also said the demonstrators had no affiliation with Texas State. 

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse later posted a statement on Thursday condemning the "homophobic and misogynistic messages" from the preachers. 

"Over the course of my 30 years in higher education, I have observed these kinds of incidents on every campus where I have served," Damphousse said. "I know how unsettling these experiences have been for me, so I am sure that it was disturbing for our students, their friends and family, our employees, and our alumni who were in the Quad at the time, or who saw the pictures and videos after the fact."

Damphousse went on to say that he was "very sad" that this happened on Texas State's campus and the demonstrators' messages were contrary to the values held by the university. 

"Messages like the ones expressed by the demonstrators, sow confusion, anger, distrust, bitterness, fear, and anxiety (none of which belong on our campuses)," he said. "While TXST is legally committed to protecting free speech on our campuses, we understand that words can negatively impact members of our community. I condemn the hateful words these two men wrote and spoke while they were on our campus. That kind of hate is not welcome here."

The event has gone somewhat viral on social media, with some posts on Instagram and TikTok garnering thousands of reactions from people disturbed by the preachers’ messages.

The University Star posted a photo gallery of both the demonstrators and the counter protest that followed on its website. Warning: some of the images may be disturbing.